Brianna Ghey was lured to her death by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in February 2023(Image: Cheshire Police / SWNS)

Brianna Ghey's dad fights back tears as he pays tribute to 'cheeky' daughter at inquest

Brianna’s dad Peter Spooner broke down as he lifted the lid on their troubled relationship after he had struggled to “know how to deal” with the revelation that she was transgender

by · The Mirror

Brianna Ghey's dad fought back tears as he described losing his “funny and cheeky” daughter at an inquest into her tragic death.

Brianna was only 16 when she was lured to her death by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in February 2023. She thought she had been meeting two friends in Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington when the pair, both aged 15 at the time, stabbed her 28 times in a frenzied attack.

At her inquest today Brianna’s dad Peter Spooner broke down as he lifted the lid on their troubled relationship after he had struggled to “know how to deal” with the revelation that she was transgender. The coroner's court heard that Brianna had been born ‘Brett’ but decided to change her name and pronouns at the age of 14 in 2020.

Just before her decision to transition, Mr Spooner told how he had met up with Brianna after she reached out to him for a meeting. He said: “When she was young and known as Brett, she was very funny. As she grew to her teens I wasn’t around, I lost a lot of time with her. When I met her when she was 14, before she transitioned, she was quite shy and not the funny little boy she was when I had last seen her.

Brianna Ghey was lured to a park in her hometown and stabbed to death( Image: PA)
Brianna was just 16( Image: PA)

Stifling a sob he added: “Sorry it’s just very hard.”

The court heard how Mr Spooner had split with Brianna’s mum, Esther Ghey, when Brianna was just two months old. Her dad’s emotional testimony followed another statement read to the court from Esther Ghey. It told how she feels like she is “grieving two different people” after watching her “funny outgoing” child become a teenager “immersed in darkness”.

She said: “Brianna met all her milestones but in hindsight there were very early signs of hyperactivity even at nursery. She had lots of friends and all the staff loved her. She was a mischievous, funny and outgoing child. All my friends were charmed by her, she always seemed to be drawn to women. She was so loving and always wanted to give out hugs. I remember I took her to the doctors once and when we were leaving she gave the doctor a hug.”

Peter Spooner attended the inquest in Warrington( Image: PA)

But by the time Brianna reached high school, she began struggling with her mental health, restricting her food and at one point began “refusing to wash or brush her teeth for weeks”, her mum revealed.

Brianna had started speaking to strangers online and joining groups promoting self harming and eating disorders. Esther continued: “I feel she went down a hole of negativity, she seemed to crave it I felt the online world she was living in was very toxic.”

She added: “When Brianna was little she was such an energetic ball of joy… In her teenage years she was immersed in darkness. It sometimes feels like I’m grieving two different people.”

Brianna’s dad Peter Spooner broke down as he lifted the lid on their troubled relationship( Image: PA)

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, were convicted in December 2023 of the murder of Brianna, also 16 after she was fatally stabbed 28 times in a frenzied attack. They were both jailed for life.

Jenkinson was given a minimum term of 22 years in prison and Ratcliffe a minimum of 20 years in jail. They were 15 at the time of the murder. Sentencing the pair, Mrs Justice Yip told them they "both took part in a brutal and planned murder which was sadistic in nature." She said one of their motives for carrying out the killing was Brianna's trans identity.

The media was banned from naming both during the four-week trial because of their ages. Jenkinson, Brianna’s school friend and the daughter of teachers, who lives close to the park in Culcheth, was identified only as girl X during their trial last December at Manchester Crown Court.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were found guilty of murder( Image: PA)

Ratcliffe, from Leigh, whose mother is a skiing instructor and father runs his own businesses, had been identified only as boy Y. After they were found guilty of murder by the jury, trial judge Mrs Justice Yip ruled the press could name the two at their sentencing hearing following an appeal.

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